Local Land Services Regulation 2014

The regulation defines several foundational concepts. “Intensive livestock production” means keeping or nurturing stock for commercial purposes wholly or substantially by routinely feeding them prepared or manufactured feed, except temporary feeding during drought, fire, flood or similar emergency (cl 3(1)). “Notional carrying capacity” is the number of stock that Local Land Services has assessed in accordance with Division 4 of Part 2 could be maintained on the land (cl 3(1)). This assessment is made by reference to a 40 kg wether sheep as 1 stock unit and a 400 kg steer as 10 stock units (cl 17(2)). For calculating rates, different stock-unit conversions apply under cl 3(2), where for example a bull, cow, ox or steer aged at least 6 months represents 10 stock units, a sheep of that age represents 1 stock unit, and a pig of any age represents 1 stock unit. An “occupier” is the person entitled to immediate possession of the land, excluding a resident manager who does not reside on the land (cl 3(1)). A “holding” can be treated as a single holding if the occupier of two or more non-contiguous holdings requests it for rate liability purposes (cl 3(3)). “Rateable land” is land within a region that was rateable under the repealed Rural Lands Protection Act 1998 (cl 4). Three rate types exist: general rate, animal health rate, and special purpose rates (cl 5). A general rate or special purpose rate consists of a base amount plus an amount per stock unit based on total notional carrying capacity of rateable land in the district (cl 6(3)). The animal health rate uses a base amount plus per-stock-unit amount based on notional carrying capacity, but only for land where annual returns indicate at least 50 stock units were kept (cl 6(4)). “Required travelling rate” means the rate of travel required by cl 74(1), which is not less than 10 kilometres each day for stock walking on journeys lasting more than 24 hours (cl 74(1)). The regulation also creates the concept of “stock zones”: permanent stock zones set aside by a roads authority, and temporary stock zones set aside by a person who owns or has charge of stock grazing or walking on a public road (cl 52). “Catchment contribution” is a levy on land within a catchment contribution area, based on land value exceeding $300 within the meaning of the Valuation of Land Act 1916 (cl 36). For native vegetation purposes, the regulation introduces categories of land on the native vegetation regulatory map: category 1-exempt land, category 2-regulated land, and category 2-sensitive regulated land, with detailed rules for designation, including low or high conservation value groundcover and grasslands (cl 108-110). “Authorised stock identifier” is a brand, mark or other means of identifying stock specified by a stock identification order under Part 12 (cl 96).

The regulation directly affects occupiers and owners of rateable land in NSW regions, who are liable for rates and must lodge annual returns. “Occupier” includes the person entitled to immediate possession, and if there are two or more occupiers, they are jointly and severally liable for rates (cl 9(2)). Owners other than the Crown also become liable if rates remain unpaid 12 months after the due date (cl 10(1)). Holders of short tenure Crown land (leases up to 3 years or licences) must provide a tenure bond to secure unpaid rates (cl 27). Persons who own or have charge of stock that walk or graze on public roads are affected by stock zone obligations, signage requirements, and the requirement to keep stock under control (cl 64). Those moving stock on journeys over 24 hours must maintain a rate of travel of not less than 10 km per day unless an exception applies (cl 74). Stock owners and persons transporting stock by vehicle must comply with documentation requirements under Part 8, including particulars such as name, telephone number, and vehicle registration (cl 83). The regulation also affects owners of stock identification brands or earmarks registered under a stock identification scheme, who must include those details in annual returns (cl 29(3)(k)). Persons who apply to be candidates for election as members of local boards are subject to eligibility criteria, including residency in the region and not having been convicted of an imprisonable offence within 15 years or been bankrupt (cl 91-94). Landholders seeking to clear native vegetation on their land outside authorised exemptions must engage with the native vegetation regulatory map categories and obtain approvals from the Native Vegetation Panel or comply with land management codes (Pt 14). Persons using travelling stock reserves for recreational activities such as horse riding, walking, picnicking, and pedal cycling are authorised only on reserves that are not excluded reserves (cl 62). The regulation also affects owners of land adjoining unfenced public roads or travelling stock reserves who receive notice that stock will travel or graze; they must take reasonably practicable steps to prevent injury or damage (cl 65).

Occupiers must lodge annual returns by 31 August each year, signed and including full details of stock numbers, land description, intensive livestock production, and property identification codes (cl 29). If there are two or more occupiers, one lodgement suffices for all (cl 28(2)). An occupier who receives a rate notice must advise any non-Crown owner of the rate levied within 14 days (cl 8(6)), and similarly notify other occupiers and owners of a notional carrying capacity assessment within 14 days (cl 16(4)). A person must notify Local Land Services within one month of ceasing to be or becoming the occupier or owner of rateable land (cl 24(1)). Occupiers must also notify any change in postal address within one month (cl 26(1)), and owners of stock kept on rateable land must do likewise (cl 26(2)). The regulation imposes a duty to pay rates by the due date, which must be between 28 and 42 days after service of the rate notice (cl 8(3)). Owners (other than Crown) who pay unpaid rates may recover from the occupier (cl 10(3)). Any occupier or owner who pays rates accruing during another’s occupancy or ownership can recover that proportion as a debt (cl 13). Rights include the right to request a review of a notional carrying capacity assessment within 28 days of notice (cl 18), followed by a right to appeal to the Civil and Administrative Tribunal if dissatisfied with the review decision (cl 20). An occupier or owner may also appeal against the validity of any rate on grounds that land is not rateable or not subject to a particular rate, within 30 days of the rate notice, subject to having paid all rates due in preceding years (cl 21). The Tribunal must hear the appeal and can confirm or vary the assessment or rate (cl 22). Persons who are aggrieved by a categorisation or re-categorisation decision on the native vegetation regulatory map may request a review within the process set out in cl 120-122, and appeal to the Land and Environment Court within 90 days after notification of the review decision or deemed refusal (cl 123). The regulation also provides rights for applicants to seek approval from the Native Vegetation Panel to clear native vegetation, with appeal rights to the Land and Environment Court if refused (cl 136). Persons who have stock impounded under Part 7 may claim them, subject to a prescribed impounding fee of $200 (cl 69(7)). Holders of a stock permit must produce it on demand and comply with authorised officer directions (cl 73). The regulation permits Local Land Services to waive payment of charges or write them off in particular cases or classes of cases (cl 103), and to defer or waive catchment contributions in cases of hardship (cl 44).

The regulation establishes a schedule of penalty notice offences under both the Act and the regulation (Schedule 2). Penalty amounts range from $150 for minor offences (e.g., failure to notify change of address, cl 26, Schedule 2 Part 2) up to $1,100 for offences under s 123(4) of the Act. Maximum penalties in proceedings are expressed in penalty units: for example, failing to advise an owner of a rate notice attracts a maximum of 10 penalty units (cl 8(6)); interfering with a stock zone sign carries 20 penalty units (cl 55); depositing an animal carcass on a travelling stock reserve carries 50 penalty units for the first carcass and 5 per additional carcass (cl 66). The most significant penalty under the regulation is for contravening a requirement of an approval, certificate or land management (native vegetation) code, which carries a maximum of 100 penalty units (cl 139(2)). The regulation also creates specific enforcement mechanisms: Local Land Services may recover unpaid rates as a debt in any court of competent jurisdiction (s 23 measures facilitate recovery despite appeals). For catchment contributions, interest may be charged at the rate set under the Local Government Act 1993 (cl 42), and unpaid contributions are a charge on the land (cl 41). Authorised officers have powers to direct persons to leave a travelling stock reserve if they suspect an offence, and may use reasonable force to remove non-compliant persons (cl 70). Officers may also impound bees or beehives placed or kept on a controlled travelling stock reserve without authority (cl 69). The regulation provides for offences relating to stock zones: the owner or person in charge of stock on or near a public road must ensure stock are in a stock zone if it is reasonably foreseeable they may be a hazard, with a maximum penalty of 20 penalty units (cl 53(2)). Failure to display temporary stock zone signs when moving or grazing stock on non-permanent stock zone roads carries 20 penalty units, with a defence if the presence of stock caused no reasonably foreseeable hazard or the failure was due to circumstances beyond control (cl 54). Interference with stock zone signs is also an offence (cl 55). The regulation sets out penalty notice amounts for prescribed offences in Schedule 2, allowing enforcement without prosecution. For native vegetation offences, cl 139 creates a separate offence of contravening a requirement of an approval, certificate or code, with a defence for non-landholders who were not aware of the relevant instrument. A person cannot be convicted of both an offence under cl 139 and under s 60N of the Act for the same act or omission.

The regulation operates as a subordinate instrument under the Local Land Services Act 2013 and must be read together with that Act, which provides broader definitions and interpretive provisions (cl 3(1) note). It directly references several other Acts. The definition of rateable land adopts the concept of district from the repealed Rural Lands Protection Act 1998 (cl 3(1)). For catchment contributions, land value is determined under the Valuation of Land Act 1916 (cl 36), and the interest rate for overdue contributions follows the rate set by the local council under the Local Government Act 1993 (cl 42). The regulation interacts extensively with the Biosecurity Act 2015: special purpose rates may fund contributions under s 200A of that Act for pest management (cl 7(1)), and persons moving or grazing stock may be subject to biosecurity directions (cl 79(2)(c)). Travelling stock reserves and public roads are governed by Part 6 of the Act, and the regulation prescribes additional circumstances where use of a public road for walking or grazing stock is not an offence, referencing the Crown Land Management Act 2016 (cl 59(f)). Stock zones are defined with reference to the Roads Act 1993 and the Road Rules 2014 (cl 51, 52(9)). The regulation also interacts with the Pesticides Act 1999 and the Agvet Code for warning signs on reserves (cl 67). For stock identification, the regulation establishes a scheme that can operate independently but interacts with any other law requiring identification marks (cl 98(3) allows other lawful marks). The regulation for local board elections references the Electoral Act 2017 directly for offences of bribery and intimidation (Schedule 1, cl 45 and 47). The Land and Environment Court is the appellate body for native vegetation categorisation and clearing approval decisions (cl 123, 136), and also for disputing local board elections (Schedule 1, cl 38). The regulation interacts with the Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2013, as appeals against notional carrying capacity assessments and rates are external appeals to NCAT (cl 20, 21 notes). For native vegetation, the regulation cross-references the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 (for threatened species, conservation agreements, remedial actions), the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974, the Native Vegetation Act 2003 (repealed but transitional), and the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 for development consents requiring offsets. The regulation also references the Government Sector Finance Act 2018 for annual reporting purposes (cl 30(1)(d)). The Public Spaces (Unattended Property) Act 2021 is referenced for unattended stock exceptions (cl 81).

The regulation has been amended multiple times since its commencement. Key amendments include: 2013 No 95 (Sch 8.14) which substituted references to the Administrative Decisions Tribunal with the Civil and Administrative Tribunal following the establishment of NCAT, affecting appeal provisions in cl 20, 21, and 22. The Biosecurity Act 2015 amendment (2015 No 24) repealed Part 9 (old cl 85-86) and updated references throughout. In 2017, several significant amendments occurred: 2017 No 48 amended cl 7 to allow special purpose pest management rates under the Biosecurity Act; 2017 No 17 amended cl 59 to update references to the Crown Land Management Act 2016; and 2017 (445) inserted the extensive Part 14 on land management (native vegetation) and amended the heading of Part 13. Amendment 2018 No 25 updated references to the Department and the Director-General in cl 68 and 77. Amendment 2018 No 40 adjusted references in cl 113 and 129 to the Forestry Act 2012. Amendment 2018 (628) made further refinements to Part 14, including definitions and category designations. Amendment 2019 (642) substituted cl 91 on eligibility for election as a local board member, substituted cl 94 on ineligibility, and amended cl 29, Schedule 1, and Schedule 2. Amendment 2022 (213) inserted new subclauses 71(4A) and (4B) regarding acquisition processes for determining grazing fees, and amended cl 73 to allow conditions requiring public liability insurance of $20 million. The most recent amendment, 2024 No 82, updated the heading of Part 7 and amended cl 81 to cross-reference the Public Spaces (Unattended Property) Act 2021. The regulation also saw minor technical amendments in 2014 No 74 (to cl 40), 2017 (117) (to Schedule 1), 2018 (325) (adding Bison bison and other species to stock definition in cl 82), and 2019 (78) (to cl 108).

The regulation itself does not record any specific cases, but it establishes structured litigation pathways. Appeals against notional carrying capacity assessments and rates go to the Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT). Under cl 20, an occupier or owner dissatisfied with a review decision may appeal to NCAT within 30 days of receiving notice. The Tribunal determines the appeal on the information provided to Local Land Services plus any additional information provided, and can confirm or vary the assessment. Before hearing the appeal, the Tribunal must be satisfied that the appellant has paid all other rates due. Cl 21 permits an appeal to NCAT against the validity of a rate within 30 days of the rate notice, on grounds that the land is not rateable or not subject to a particular rate. The appeal is an external appeal, and a decision may be further appealed to the Land and Environment Court under Schedule 1 to the Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2013. For native vegetation matters, cl 123 provides a 90-day appeal period to the Land and Environment Court against a categorisation or re-categorisation decision after a review (or deemed refusal). Appeals against a refusal of a clearing approval by the Native Vegetation Panel must be lodged within 6 months (cl 136). Local board election disputes are heard by the Land and Environment Court under Schedule 1, cl 38, with the Court having the same powers as the Court of Disputed Returns under the Electoral Act 2017. The returning officer is entitled to be represented at the hearing (cl 39A). The regulation does not list or reference any litigated cases; the litigation history is therefore limited to the availability of these statutory appeal routes.

Several provisions create common traps for practitioners. The requirement for an occupier who receives a rate notice to give oral or written advice to any owner (other than the Crown) within 14 days carries a penalty of 10 penalty units (cl 8(6)) , this is easily overlooked, especially in multiple-occupier situations. Similarly, an occupier who receives a notice of notional carrying capacity assessment must advise other occupiers and owners within 14 days (cl 16(4)), also subject to a 10 penalty unit fine. Failing to notify Local Land Services of a change in occupancy or ownership within one month incurs a penalty of 10 penalty units (cl 24(1)), and the former occupier or owner remains liable for unpaid rates until that notice is given (cl 11(1)). A person who becomes the occupier of land that is subject to a lease, licence or purchase from the Crown is not liable for any rate that was unpaid on the day they became occupier (cl 11(4)), but this exemption does not extend to private sales. For annual returns, the regulation requires details of stock number as at 30 June, but for pigs , of any age , the count is on 30 June (cl 29(3)(f)), whereas for other stock only those 6 months or older are counted (cl 29(3)(e)). If a holding has no stock at all, the animal health rate exemption requires an annual return indicating fewer than 50 stock units; failure to lodge a return by the due date may result in loss of the exemption (cl 14(1)). In calculating stock numbers for the exemption, horses exceeding five are taken into account, but the first five horses are disregarded (cl 14(2)). The formula for rates uses notional carrying capacity, not actual stock numbers, so land with few actual stock units may still attract significant rates if the notional capacity is high. For travelling stock, the requirement to travel at least 10 km each day is mandatory unless there is a defence of bad weather, fire, flood or other unforeseeable circumstance, or approval is given (cl 74). If part of a mob is unfit, an authorised officer may order culling and immediate removal by vehicle (cl 74(6)-(7)). The fee for slower travel is additional to the permit fee (cl 74(9)). Temporary stock zone signs must be displayed by a person moving or grazing stock on non-permanent stock zone roads unless the presence of stock caused no reasonably foreseeable hazard , reliance on this defence requires proof (cl 54(2)). The sign must be positioned with not less than 200 metres and not more than 5 kilometres between the sign and where stock would first be encountered (cl 52(7)). For native vegetation, category 2-sensitive regulated land is excluded from clearance under land management codes (cl 124(1)(a)), with limited exceptions for set aside areas. Landholders should note that during the period between notification of a proposed re-categorisation to category 2-sensitive regulated land and the decision, the land is taken to be category 2-sensitive regulated land for up to 60 days (cl 119). Applications for review of categorisation must be accompanied by a $300 fee, which may be waived (cl 120(1)(d), (2)). The appeal period to the Land and Environment Court is 90 days after notification of the review decision or deemed refusal, whichever is later (cl 123). For clearing approval applications, the Native Vegetation Panel is taken to have refused the application if it does not determine it within 90 days, subject to the Panel later granting or refusing (cl 135(3)). The approval lapses 5 years after it operates unless clearing is commenced before that date (cl 138). A contravention of a requirement of a certificate, approval or code is itself an offence under cl 139, with a maximum 100 penalty units, and the defence for non-landholders turns on lack of awareness. Finally, the tenure bond for short tenure Crown land holders must be provided within 14 days of taking the land, with a maximum penalty of 20 penalty units for failure (cl 27(2)).

Compliance can be approached systematically. First, ratepayers should ensure annual returns are lodged by 31 August each year for all rateable land and for non-rateable land with a property identification code or registered brand/earmark (cl 28). The return must be signed and include full stock numbers as at 30 June, land descriptions, details of intensive livestock production, and any relevant codes. If the land is rateable, the landholding reference number from the rate notice must be included (cl 29(3)(l)). Occupiers should keep records of the return for at least 5 years if relying on historical land-use information for native vegetation purposes (see cl 114(2) for transitional period). Notify Local Land Services within one month of any change in occupancy or ownership using the approved form (cl 24), and also notify any change in postal address (cl 26). Pay rates by the due date specified in the rate notice, which will be between 28 and 42 days after service (cl 8(3)). If an occupier believes the notional carrying capacity assessment is incorrect, a written application for review must be lodged within 28 days of the notice of assessment (cl 18). Provide any additional information requested within the 28-day window to avoid the review being dismissed (cl 18(4)). If dissatisfied with the review decision, an appeal to NCAT must be made within 30 days (cl 20). For travelling stock, when moving stock on public roads, ensure the stock are within a stock zone if it is reasonably foreseeable they may be a hazard (cl 53(2)). Display temporary stock zone signs at least 200 metres before the stock on non-permanent stock zone roads, and remove them when stock are no longer present (cl 54). Obtain a stock permit from Local Land Services at least 2 working days before stock enter, graze or walk on a travelling stock reserve or public road, unless otherwise agreed (cl 71(3)). Pay the prescribed fee: $1 per day for each 10 small stock, $1 per large stock (except horses/camels at $2), and $20 per year for a permit (cl 71(4), (5)). If the journey exceeds 24 hours, maintain a travel rate of at least 10 km per day; if this is not possible due to stock unfitness or other reason, seek approval from an authorised officer and pay the additional fee (cl 74). Keep stock under control at all times on roads and reserves (cl 64). For land adjoining unfenced public roads or reserves, if given 24 hours’ notice that stock will travel or graze, take all reasonably practicable steps to prevent injury or damage (cl 65). For native vegetation, first check the native vegetation regulatory map to determine the category of the land. If the land is category 1-exempt, clearing may be permitted without approval. If category 2-regulated, check whether the land is category 2-sensitive regulated land , such land cannot be cleared under a land management code (cl 124). If the land is not category 2-sensitive, consider whether the proposed clearing falls within the allowances of a land management (native vegetation) code. Before clearing, obtain a certificate from Local Land Services under s 60Y of the Act if required, and ensure all owners consent in writing (cl 125). Establish any required set aside areas, ensuring the land is not already subject to obligations that preclude it (cl 129). For clearing not authorised by a code, apply to the Native Vegetation Panel on the approved form, paying the applicable fee ($3,000 up to $9,000 depending on zone and area, cl 132). Provide any further information requested within the specified period to avoid the application being determined without it (cl 134). If the Panel refuses the application or fails to determine it within 90 days, appeal to the Land and Environment Court within 6 months (cl 136). Throughout, maintain records of all correspondence, notices, permits, certificates, and returns to demonstrate compliance.